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Mauricio Gomez-Lopez
I study: “Matroid theory, an area of mathematics that provides a unified framework to understand both linear algebra and graph theory and that reveals many surprising connections and analogies between these two fields.”
Why? “Matroids are incredibly intriguing objects. On the one hand, it is natural to think of a matroid as a finite set of vectors in a vector space. But in many other cases, it is more convenient to view a matroid as a graph. It is precisely this dichotomy that makes matroid theory so exciting and vibrant.”
My moment of zen: “When I taught a discrete math course in the spring of 2019 at the University of Oregon, I had a computer science major who had flunked this course twice already. If he did not pass again, he would have been kicked out of the program. When I heard his story, I felt committed to helping him. He came every day to office hours, and each time he came, I could see his progress. His final exam was flawless, and he was one of the few who got an A+ on the test. A week later, he sent me a message to express his thanks and to tell me that this was the first time he had gotten a perfect score in any math test. It is precisely this type of experience that drives me to be a dedicated educator and makes me passionate about teaching.”
What I love about Lafayette: “One thing I love about Lafayette is the strong sense of community that you feel in this school. Ever since I arrived, everybody who works here has been incredibly supportive and always willing to help.”
What I like about Easton so far: “One thing I like about Easton is that you can find many great restaurants in the downtown area. There is a lot of variety. I even found a Colombian restaurant close to my apartment! I also really like the Karl Stirner Arts Trail. It’s a wonderful place to go if you want to exercise or be close to nature.”